


What I Want to Be

by tinybox



Series: Rewind (fast forward) [10]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Baking, Brotherly Bonding, Clones, Cupcakes, Dysfunctional Family, Self-Discovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-27 18:44:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19386790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: “Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions . . . by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions.”― Malcolm Gladwell





	1. Chapter 1

It all starts with a mediocre holovision show. 

"Guys! It's starting, it's starting!" Dark Mike shouts, throwing himself on a 'beanbag chair'- really just a trash bag with a pillow stuffed in it-all without taking his eyes of the screen. 

"Nobody cares!" Red scoffs, keeping his gaze firmly focused on the beat up boxing bag and not at the holovision screen. 

The Recreational Room, or the "Hanging Out Place," as Dark Mike calls it, is pretty small. There's enough space for a beat-up holoscreen, some cushions, and a boxing bag. 

Dark Mike bounces up and down on his beanbag chair with a huge grin on his face as the theme song starts playing. 

_Cupcake Warriors!_

_Cupcake Warriors!_

_Whenever there's trouble...you know who to call..._

_CUPCAKE WARRIORS!_

_Fight with the power of baked goods!_

_And you will never ever lose!_

Despite his earlier mocking, Red finds himself glancing at the screen every so often. "Wait...those just look like ordinary people. I thought they were cupcakes or sumthin'." 

Dark Mikey sighs. "No, they're warriors who fight crime with their machine guns that shoot baked goods." As the title screen shows up, he brightens. "I love this episode! Brandon Muffington finally discovers his cupcakes were actually given to him by...wait, I don't want to spoil it."

"Eh." But Dark Raph plops himself on the ground next to Dark Mikey. "Got nothing better to do."

_"But Captain, we're out of buttercream frosting! We'll never be able to fly the ship now!"_

_"Never tell me the odds. NEVER TELL ME."_

"I'm lost."

"It's not that hard to understand. Brandon Muffington is a space captain who also owns a bakery and he fights aliens and tries his best to be a good dad in a society that's evolving faster and faster to the point where it can be difficult to keep up."

_"Stiny, get me the unicorn underpants!"_

_"Sir, yes sir!"_

Dark Mikey sighs as the credits roll. "I wish I could make a cupcake."

"Keep dreaming. You'd probably burn the entire place down."


	2. Chapter 2

There's a knock at the door, and Dark Donatello sighs, placing down his wrench. "You need something, _fearless leader?"_

"I ain't Blue. Lemme in."

This surprises Purple so much that by the time he thinks of a reply, Dark Raph is already inside, pieces of broken lock falling from his hand onto the ground. 

_Red never knocks._

Dark Donatello stands up from his workstation, just in case Red's trying to do something of a nefarious nature. "What do you need, dear _brother?"_ he intones, and Dark Raph grunts.

"I need you to make me somethin'."

"No."

Dark Raph scowls. "You didn't even ask what I wanted," he says in a voice best described as petulant, even _whiny_. 

"Go away."

"No."

"I'm working right now." Dark Donatello sits back down, picks up his wrench, clearly indicating that the conversation is over.

Of course, despite his appearance, Purple is, in fact, paying close attention to his not-brother's behavior in case the brutish oaf actually thinks of attacking Dark Don in his very own domain. 

But Dark Raph does not attack, nor does he say anything else. Instead, he crosses his arms, and sits firmly on the ground.

"If you're trying to send a telepathic message," Dark Donatello taunts, "it's not working. You don't have enough brain cells to send it."

Dark Raph grunts, eyelid twitching. 

Dark Donny continues working. Even without looking up, he can feel the other turtle staring straight at him, unnervingly silent. 

"I'm very busy right now," Dark Donatello lies, putting down his wrench. Grabbing a notepad, he starts scribbling a random equation down.

"This mathematical formula," he says, holding up the notepad, "is the key to us defeating those turtles. Once I decode how this equation works, I will be able to use that knowledge to our advantage. No one is this entire universe has been able to figure out how this works, so I need to be alone so I can, you know, _solve_ it."

In all honesty, the equation isn't difficult or complex, and the bit about no one being able to solve it is a complete lie. But it's not like that doofus will be able to tell the difference...

"Well, I guess this means when I get arrested for shoplifting, I can tell Blue it's all your fault." With that, Purple's brother stands up, and walks lazily out of the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Dark Raph scans the list in front of him intently. "So it says _granulated_ sugar here, but there's also _confectioner's_ sugar on the list as well," he mutters to himself, "is there any actual difference between the two?"

"Yeah, bro. Confectioner's sugar is more powdery and stuff." 

Startling, Dark Raph manages to not stab the person standing right next to him by sheer will alone. _See, I can control myself_ , he thinks spitefully to Blue and Purple, proud even though he will never _ever_ actually tell this to his fake brothers, because then he'd have to explain where he was and what he was doing at the time. 

And Red can't have that.

(If anyone asked him why he did this, he'd be screwed, because he doesn't have any answers to give. Not any good ones, anyway.)

The idiot who spoke to him is a beefy dude with a strange looking unicorn tattoo on his right bicep. "Sorry, dude, didn't mean to butt in, but I thought you might need some help."

The guy smiles sheepishly. 

For a moment, Dark Raph considers his options.

a.) Walk away quickly. 

b.) Pretend to ignore him.

Both are good ideas. All he has to pick one. Shouldn't be too hard, right?

"Sure, I guess." 

The guy grins, and Raph immediately regrets his decision making skills. 

"So, uh," the guy rocks back on his heels, "the name's Bren." 

"Red," he grunts out in reply. The human doesn't seem phased at all that his voice is lackluster and barely interested at best. Hopefully the guy's relaxation is not because he can see that Red is absolutely terrified. Not of the human, of course not.

It's just...what is he supposed to do in this situation? How do you talk to people in a scenario where there isn't any fighting? Should he make eye contact? How much eye contact does it take before it becomes weird and creepy? Why does he care so much? Why can't this just be a simple fight? Should he say something now, or is it already passed the point of no return into the realm of awkwardness? It would have been way simpler just to rob the place at night. Why did he decide to do this during the day? Oh god, the human is looking at him. Did they say something? They said something, and he wasn't listening. He should just book it. Forget about the whole thing. Go back and pretend this whole thing never even happened. 

That is definitely a good idea. 

"Sorry, can you repeat that?", is what he actually says, cringing internally. 

"No prob, dude. I was just wondering, whatcha making, if you don't mind me asking."

"Cupcakes. My...brother wanted to bake some, and he's...well, he's a bit of an idiot. I need to be around in case he tries to burn the place down or somethin'."

Dark Raph hadn't been joking, but Bren laughs anyway. It's...kind of nice, not having someone laugh at him but rather because they thought him to have said something funny. 

Not that he'll ever admit this anyone, cause he's not a wimpy baby who needs praise or anythin'. He'll leave that stuff to Orange and Purple, thank you very much.

"Hey, I love cupcakes. This your first time making 'em?"

"Yeah," Red admits, adding, "I know nothing about 'em, either, 'cept that they have frosting and stuff. Also there's apparently a show about people who fight with cupcakes."

"Oh, I love that show! Completely underrated. You a fan?" The guy's eyes are wide, a smile on his face. 

"Uhhh...yeah? Just started watching, though. It's pretty cool, I guess."

_That show is garbage and for sissy babies._

"Awesome! We should hang out sometime!" Now the human looks sheepish. "Umm..that is, if you don't mind."

_Don't say yes, don't say yes._

"...Sure, I guess."

"Sweet. Umm...if you want, I can help you out with the rest of the items on your list?"

_..._

"...It's your funeral."

The human laughs again, still smiling brightly. 

_Weirdo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although this may seem out of character, we've never really seen Dark Raph in any situation that didn't involve fighting of some kind. So this is all new territory for him.


End file.
